The constitutional basis of a woman's right to abortion or termination of her pregnancy in the US lies in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It is a promise and assurance of the Constitution to women of reproductive age that this is a private domain, where the Government would not encroach upon.
Anti abortion groups claimed that they were saving the fetus of the unborn children from murder.
The state must balance the right to reproductive freedom of the pregnant woman to terminate her pregnancy against its concern for her safety and survival. In this context, the Courts have divided pregnancy into twelve-week trimesters. In the first trimester, the state cannot stand in the way of abortion or prevent a woman's access to it. It can only require that abortions be performed by a licensed physician in medically safe conditions. During the second trimester, the state can regulate abortion procedures only to the extent necessary in the interest the mother's health. In the third trimester, the state has a dominant interest in protecting the "potentiality" of the fetus's life. A state may prohibit abortions during this time except, where essential to save the life or preserve the health of the mother.
Abortion laws concerning reproductive right vary across different states or jurisdictions. While some states might require spousal consent for abortion, in others mere spousal intimation suffices. Some state laws mandate that minors obtain informed consent to abortion from at least one parent or a competent Court.
A series of regulations were introduced in February 1988 by the Reagan administration's Justice Department affecting family planning clinics that receive funds through title X of the Public Health Service Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 300-300a-6. The regulations prohibited clinic personnel from providing any information about abortion, including counseling or referral activities. Although a family planning agency could still conduct abortion-related activities, it could not use federal money to fund such activities. Woman’s right to seek medical advice outside a title X-funded agency remained "unfettered."
In 1993, after assuming office, President Bill Clinton reinstated title X regulations that were in effect before February 1988 so that Title X-funded clinics would again be able to provide counseling for abortion services.
To address the menace of vandalism and militancy against abortion clinics, President Clinton on May 26, 2004 signed into law the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). It gives federal courts the authority to issue restraining orders against protesters blockading abortion clinics (18 U.S.C.A. § 248). The law allows for federal criminal prosecution of anyone who obstructs or disrupts the functioning of any abortion clinic or reproductive health facility. The laws also makes it a federal crime to intentionally damage or destroy the property of any reproductive health facility, and it permits the victims to institute private suits against the wrongdoers. The penalties for violation of the act include imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of $10,000 for a first offense; for each subsequent offense, penalties can be up to three years' imprisonment and $25,000 fine.
(More: http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_supr.htm)
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